Yves Saint Laurent museums to open in Paris and Marrakech
The foundation dedicated to conserving the work of legendary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent has revealed two new museums dedicated to his life and career will open in France and Morocco in 2017.
The Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent will showcase part of its vast collection of accessories, haute couture garments, sketches, collection boards, photographs and objects collected by Saint Laurent between 1962 and 2002.
“To this day, this collection has no equivalent in the international milieu,” said the foundation. “A real pioneer, Yves Saint Laurent is the only designer of his generation who decided to systematically archive his work from the time of the creation of his couture house in 1961. From original sketches to prototypes, warehouse records to retailing books, the collection is unique in scope, scale and range.
The museum’s Paris branch will be housed in 5 avenue Marceau, the studio where Saint Laurent designed and created his work for almost 30 years. The space is currently occupied by the foundation’s offices and some of its collection.
Stage designer Nathalie Crinière and interior designer Jacques Grange will rethink the available exhibition space, doubling it in size and refurbishing the interiors in the style of the designer’s original couture house.
The museum will open in Q3 next year, coinciding with the opening of the second site in Marrakech. The city was a major inspiration for Saint Laurent from 1966 onwards, and he was a regular traveller there.
The museum will be located in a new 4,000sq m (43,000sq ft) structure designed by French architects Studio KO on Rue Yves Saint Laurent near the Jardin Majorelle – a garden the designer saved from being developed.
It will comprise a permanent display of Saint Laurent’s work, a space for temporary exhibitions, an auditorium, a research library and a café and restaurant.
“When Yves Saint Laurent discovered Marrakech in 1966, he was so moved by the place that he decided to buy a house and regularly go back there,” said Pierre Bergé, the foundation’s president and Saint Laurent’s life partner. “It feels perfectly natural, fifty years later, to build a museum dedicated to his oeuvre, which was so inspired by this country.”
Other famous French designers to have museums built in their honour include Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton – a collection of whose work is exhibited in a Frank Gehry-designed ‘cloud of glass’.
Yves Saint Laurent Paris Marrakech museum architecture design fashion France Morocco'Oscars for Museums' honours Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton, Whitworth, Whitney, MOMA and more
French President among guests at Louis Vuitton Foundation launch
Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton foundation opens in Paris this October


bbspa_Group to realise urban destination spa inside Sardinian football stadium

Thinkwell to deliver the world's first Play-Doh attractions in Saudi Arabia

Jayasom partners with Amaala to unveil multigenerational health resort in Saudi Arabia

OMA's Ellen van Loon is the visionary behind new cultural centre for Manchester

James Corner Field Operations creates Highline for London

Esbjerg’s landmark maritime center, designed by WERK Arkitekter and Snøhetta, opens to the public

SEVEN to open world’s first indoor Discovery Adventures centres in Saudi Arabia

Fun and fear drive new Universal attraction concepts for Texas and Las Vegas

Voelker Gray Design creates 10-acre hot springs wellness haven for Atlanta

AIDarchitecten create healing spa for Antwerp's Botanic Sanctuary

Hollaway Studio's Seahive would bring blue health to South-East England

SEVEN to invest US$13bn in developing entertainment destinations across Saudi Arabia

World Spa’s expansive 50,000sq ft urban bathhouse and wellness club opens in Brooklyn

Floating Salmon Eye visitor attraction by Kvorning Design highlights sustainable aquaculture

White Arkitekter's Wood Hotel in Skellefteå Swedish Lapland is climate positive and made from local timber

Nohlab's 'Everything' installation among Noor Riyadh festival highlights

Bob Iger's return to Disney sparks major restructuring focused on creativity and storytelling

Therme Group plans US$200m urban wellbeing resort in South Korea

Digital art installation in Nanjing helps the public keep an eye on exoplanets

First glimpses revealed of flagship Blue Zones Centre in Miami

Warner Bros. and Infinite Reality launch metaverse experiences for live sports fans

Storyland Studios' Nigeria's film city project will break ground in Q1 2023

Canyon Ranch preps for major expansion with new destinations in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston

WilkinsonEyre-designed Battersea Power Station development opens as leisure district following £9bn redevelopment

Healthy cities conference to discuss diversity and inclusivity in urban planning and design

Foster and Partners reveal design for sustainable marine life centre on the Red Sea

Anaheim's US$4bn ocV!BE project approved by planners

Construction marches ahead for Saudi giga-projects Amaala and The Red Sea

HBG Design behind Michigan’s six-storey Aquadome inspired by the sun’s path across the sky
